ISIS – Stone to wake a serpent LIVE at N.O. Jazz festival

ISIS were a Los Angeles, California based band, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, with a career spanning from 1997 to 2010. They borrowed from and helped to evolve a sound pioneered by the likes of Neurosis and Godflesh, creating heavy music consisting of lengthy songs that focus on repetition and evolution of structure.

On 18 May 2010, Isis announced their decision to break up following their final tour, with their final show to be in Montreal the location of the band’s very first show. Isis collectively stated they have done everything we wanted to do, said everything we wanted to say, and, as part of an agreement made by the band at its formation, it did not wish to be faced with the possibility that it would push past the point of a dignified death.

The music of Isis is not suitable for mainstream release or commercial radio playtime due to extensive song length and niche appeal as guitarist Michael Gallagher states, ‘we’ve never tried to be on the radio, and we’ve never tried to please others. We’ve simply done whatever we’ve wanted to do, and we’ve all decided to be happy with the results.’